Paleoproteomics reveals chromoblastomycosis as possible cause of King of France Louis XIV's death (1715).

The paleoproteomic study carried out on a sample of the heart of Louis XIV offers us new and original conclusions allowing us to better understand the cause and circumstances of the death of the famous king of France in 1715. Combined micro-CT scans and paleoproteomics confirm the human and cardiac nature of the sample by the identification of 50 order-specific peptides and 15 family-specific peptides, and numerous Homo sapiens species proteins. It raises the hypothesis of a fungal infection by Cyphellophora europea, a fungus known to cause skin infections, worsened in immunocompromised patients (particularly diabetics). This study paves the way for the use of paleoproteomics in the retrospective study of historical deaths and ancient pathologies, inviting efforts at further refining this promising methodology and its applications in paleopathology and forensic anthropology.